Shloka 46
अर्जुनस्य द्रोणिप्रतिघातः कर्णोपसर्पणं च
Arjuna Checks Droṇaputra; Karṇa Advances
अथान्यं रथमास्थाय वृषसेनो महारथ:
sañjaya uvāca |
athānyaṃ ratham āsthāya vṛṣaseno mahārathaḥ |
karṇasya yudhi durdharṣas tataḥ pṛṣṭham apālayat ||
Sañjaya berkata: Kemudian Vṛṣasena, sang maharathi yang sukar ditundukkan di medan perang, menaiki sebuah kereta perang yang lain dan selepas itu menjaga bahagian belakang Karṇa. Dalam pertempuran seterusnya, dengan hasrat kemenangan, putera Karṇa menghujani para juara utama pihak Pāṇḍava dengan anak panah, mencederakan putera-putera Draupadī, Sātyaki, Bhīmasena, Sahadeva, Nakula, Śatānīka, Śikhaṇḍin, bahkan Raja Yudhiṣṭhira. Setelah menimpakan derita kepada para pahlawan terkemuka itu (dan yang lain juga) dengan panahnya, wira yang menggerunkan itu kembali menjalankan tugas melindungi Karṇa daripada serangan dari belakang.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights battlefield dharma as expressed through loyalty and protective duty: Vrishasena’s role is not merely to attack but to safeguard his leader’s vulnerable flank, showing disciplined service and strategic responsibility within the harsh ethics of war.
Vrishasena mounts another chariot and takes position as Karna’s rear-guard. In the broader action described in the surrounding narration, he and/or Karna inflict arrow-wounds on major Pāṇḍava fighters; afterward Vrishasena resumes guarding Karna from attacks from behind.